The present invention generally relates to fishing equipment. More particularly, this invention relates to a fishing lure that provides one or more optical attractants without the need for a light-generating element or a power-generating device within or attached to the lure, and instead is capable of operating entirely on ambient light, such as light filtering downward from the water's surface above the lure.
Fishing lures are available in a variety of forms and styles, such as soft plastic, hard plastic, crank bait, jerk bait, top water, spinner bait, buzz bait, tube, etc. Lures are formed of opaque, transparent, and translucent materials, depending on the type of lure and its desired exterior appearance. The use of light as an attractant to draw fish to a lure is well known. General examples include lures equipped with a power source (e.g., battery) and light source (e.g., light-emitting diode, bulb, etc.), and lures containing a chemiluminescent material that produces a glow-in-the-dark effect. An example of the latter is U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,254 to Sylla et al., which discloses a replaceable chemiluminescent tube within a surface cavity in the ventral side of a lure. Shortcomings of these lures include the need to replace the light-generating components and the general lack of focus of the generated light.
The use of light pipes to conduct light through a fishing lure has also been proposed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,674 to Garr and U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,766 to Hughes et al., light pipes are used to conduct light from an extraneous light source, such as a light-emitting diode contained within the lure or attached to the lure. As such, these lures also suffer from the need to replace light-generating components.